Noticeable color fringing in some images. Not as wide-angle as others in its class. No mic input. Pricey.

Bottom Line

The Olympus Stylus 1 is a cross between and enthusiast compact and a superzoom that covers an impressive 28-300mm zoom range at f/2.8.

The Olympus Stylus 1 ($699.99 direct) has the look and feel of a top-end camera, and despite not being an interchangable lens camera with a huge image sensor, it is one. It is styled like the excellent Olympus OM-D E-M5, sharing the same EVF and titling touch-screen LCD. At its heart is a 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch image sensor, larger than those found in most long zoom cameras, and the integrated 28-300mm f/2.8 lens covers an impressive focal range at a constant aperture. It's a solid performer, and even though its zoom lens doesn't cover as long of a range as our previous favorite, the 24x Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200, we're naming the Stylus 1 as our new Editors' Choice superzoom. Its bridge-style body is shaped more like a mirrorless camera than a D-SLR, which makes it a bit more portable. The FZ200 is still an excellent camera if you need a longer telephoto lens, but if size is a priority, the Stylus 1 is worth its extra cost.

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Design and FeaturesMeasuring 3.4 by 4.5 by 2.2 inches (HWD) and weighing 14.2 ounces, the Stylus 1 is a bit larger than most compact long zoom cameras, like the pocketable Canon PowerShot SX280 HS (2.5 by 4.2 by 1.3 inches, 8.2 ounces). The Stylus has a noticeably bigger lens that doesn't collapse fully into the body, and its integrated EVF and tilting rear display also contribute to the extra bulk. The Stylus 1 has a unique lens cover; the always-on cap (it can be removed to add a teleconverter accessory) has four hinged doors that automatically open as the lens extends. You won't have to worry about capping and uncapping, and there's no danger of misplacing the cap when shooting.

The 10.7x lens is a 28-300mm f/2.8 design, which is an impressive range for a camera with a 1/1.7-inch image sensor. The FZ200's f/2.8 lens only has to cast light on a smaller 1/2.3-inch sensor; as a rule of thumb a larger image sensor generally delivers better image quality, and more control over depth of field. The FZ200 is a bit wider at its widest angle, and longer when zoomed in; its lens covers a 24-600mm range.

Up until the Stylus 1's release the longest zoom in a camera with it sensor size was found in the Nikon P7800; its 28-200mm f/2-4 lens isn't' quite as long, and doesn't capture as much light when zoomed all the way in—but it is brighter at the widest angle by a full f-stop. There's also the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 to consider; it's a 24-200mm f/2.8 shooter with the same 1-inch image sensor that's found in Sony's compact RX100 II, but it's a lot bigger than the Stylus 1 and almost twice the price.

Olympus is targeting serious shoots with the Stylus 1, and as such has included a good array of physical controls. There's a programmable Fn2 button up front, which is nestled inside of a toggle switch. The switch controls the way that the ring around the lens works—when it is set to move freely it acts as a manual focus control, when it is set to have detent stops it adjust shooting settings. There's also a power zoom control on the front, at the left side of the lens barrel.

On top you'll find a standard mode dial, a control dial for quick EV adjustments, an additional zoom rocker (surrounding the shutter release), a power button, and a record button for video capture. Rear controls include buttons to set exposure compensation, control the flash, adjust the active focus area, and control the drive mode. There's also a programmable Fn1 button, and the normal menu and playback controls.

The rear display is 3 inches in size and is hinged so that it can tilt up or down. It's a touch-sensitive panel with a 1,040k-dot resolution. It's not noticeably sharper than a 920k-dot display, like the one found on the Fujifilm SL1000, but the touch functionality is a plus. Its implementation is limited—it's just used to focus on a spot, or to focus and fire the shutter—but that's a quicker method for selecting a focus point than using the rear control buttons to move a square around the Live View feed.

There's also an eye-level EVF, and it's a great one. It's the same 1,440k-dot LCD that's found in the Olympus OM-D E-M5, and its 1.15x magnification projects a big image so you can clearly see the scene in front of you. It's noticeably larger and sharper than the 920k-dot display in the Panasonic FZ200, which to this point had been the best you could get in a long zoom camera.

The Stylus 1 has built-in Wi-Fi. The setup is identical for iOS and Android devices; you scan a QR code that's displayed on the camera's rear LCD using the Olympus Image Share app, and that installs a network profile for the SSID that is broadcasted by the camera. Once you've connected to that network you'll be able to transfer JPG images and QuickTime videos to your phone. There's also a GPS function that geotags your photos—you'll need to enable a location log and make sure that your camera's clock is set correctly to make this work.

Remote control is also available. It works just as it did with other Olympus cameras. Your phone or tablet will show the Live View feed and you can choose a focus point and fire the shutter. The app provides full access to automatic and manual shooting modes, so it's possible to adjust shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and the focal length of the lens. The Wi-Fi is easy to use and the remote control is one of the best that I've seen. What's missing right now is the ability to post photos from the camera to social networks when a hotspot is available; you have to transfer them to your phone and post from there. The Canon SX280 allows you to connect to a network and post images directly to social networks, and the long zoom Samsung Galaxy Camera includes the Android OS and a microSIM slot for always-on cellular data.

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About the Author

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at re... See Full Bio

Olympus Stylus 1

Olympus Stylus 1

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